Work planned to explain landmarks

The Hemlock Stone, Stapleford.

A local historian is hoping a 3D scan of the Hemlock Stone and Bob’s Rock sites can be used to promote the landmarks for tourism and in schools.

Frank Earp believes the Hemlock Stone was a halfway point used to signal along the Erewash Valley between the Druid Stone in Blidworth and Bob’s Rock on Stapleford Hill while trading in copper ore.

The historian has now teamed up with Nottingham University’s Geospatial Institute in a quest to unearth the significance of all three stones and help bring them to life in 3D during talks explaining the archeological project in schools and for tourism.

“We are hoping with the Hemlock Stone to solve the problem of whether it is natural of artificial,” said Frank.

“The idea is to perform a geological survey and an archeological survey and collect as much data as we can over the three sites.

“Bob’s Rock has been vandalised and used an area for drug-taking but I want to bring it back into the public’s attention.

“Everybody knows about the Hemlock Stone but the other two sites could be just as famous.”

Work on the Hemlock Stone site is set to start in January and alongside Frank will be colleagues from the University of Nottingham, an archaeologist and a group of keen volunteers.

The historian is appealing for anyone with photographs or memories of the site to email fearp1951@yahoo.co.uk.